Woman arrested in Houston trafficking case worked in prison kitchen

By Brian Rogers

Updated 7:29 pm, Monday, October 14, 2013

Photo of former location of Las Palmas II in the 5600 block of Telephone Rd., Friday, Oct. 11, 2013, in Houston. The club was raided by FBI agents in a human trafficking investigation.

Photo: Cody Duty, Houston Chronicle

Photo of former location of Las Palmas II in the 5600 block of...

The FBI, state and local law enforcement agencies raided clubs in the southeast Houston area Thursday night, including one in the 5600 block of Telephone Road. Federal agents arrested 13 suspects in connection with an alleged sex trafficking ring in Houston that prostituted underage, undocumented girls from Mexico. (Google Maps)

Photo: Google Maps

The FBI, state and local law enforcement agencies raided clubs in...

The FBI, state and local law enforcement agencies raided clubs in the southeast Houston area Thursday night, including one at 5612 Telephone Road. Federal agents arrested 13 suspects in connection with an alleged sex trafficking ring in Houston that prostituted underage, undocumented girls from Mexico. (Google Street View)

Photo: Google Street View

The FBI, state and local law enforcement agencies raided clubs in...

The FBI, state and local law enforcement agencies raided clubs in the southeast Houston area Thursday night, including one at 5618 Telephone Road. Federal agents arrested 13 suspects in connection with an alleged sex trafficking ring in Houston that prostituted underage, undocumented girls from Mexico. (Google Street View)

Photo: Google Street View

The FBI, state and local law enforcement agencies raided clubs in...

Photo of former location of Las Palmas II in the 5600 block of Telephone Rd., Friday, Oct. 11, 2013, in Houston.

Photo: Cody Duty, Houston Chronicle

Photo of former location of Las Palmas II in the 5600 block of...

Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, center, speaks as Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Brian M. Moskowitz, left, and Houston FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen L. Morris, right, listen during media conference at FBI Houston Headquarters, 1 Justice Park Drive, Friday, Oct. 11, 2013, in Houston. The multi-agency media conference was held to announce multiple federal arrests, and to seek public assistance in the ongoing investigation of an international sex-trafficking ring in which 14 have been charged. Twelve victims were recovered including five minors.

Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle

Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, center, speaks as Homeland...

Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Brian M. Moskowitz, center, speaks as Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, left, and Houston FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen L. Morris, right, listen during media conference at FBI Houston Headquarters, 1 Justice Park Drive, Friday, Oct. 11, 2013, in Houston. The multi-agency media conference was held to announce multiple federal arrests, and to seek public assistance in the ongoing investigation of an international sex-trafficking ring in which 14 have been charged. Twelve victims were recovered including five minors.

Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle

Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Brian M....

Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Brian M. Moskowitz, center left, speaks during media conference at FBI Houston Headquarters, 1 Justice Park Drive, Friday, Oct. 11, 2013, in Houston. The multi-agency media conference was held to announce multiple federal arrests, and to seek public assistance in the ongoing investigation of an international sex-trafficking ring in which 14 have been charged. Twelve victims were recovered including five minors.

Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle

Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Brian M....

Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Brian M. Moskowitz, left, and Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, center, listen as Houston FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen L. Morris, right, speaks during media conference at FBI Houston Headquarters, 1 Justice Park Drive, Friday, Oct. 11, 2013, in Houston. The multi-agency media conference was held to announce multiple federal arrests, and to seek public assistance in the ongoing investigation of an international sex-trafficking ring in which 14 have been charged. Twelve victims were recovered including five minors.

Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle

Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Brian M....

Copy of handout photo from FBI of fugitive Alfonso Diaz-Juarez, aka "Poncho" shown during media conference at FBI Houston Headquarters, 1 Justice Park Drive, Friday, Oct. 11, 2013, in Houston. The multi-agency media conference was held to announce multiple federal arrests, and to seek public assistance in the ongoing investigation of an international sex-trafficking ring in which 14 have been charged. Twelve victims were recovered including five minors.

Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, center left, speaks during media conference at FBI Houston Headquarters, 1 Justice Park Drive, Friday, Oct. 11, 2013, in Houston. The multi-agency media conference was held to announce multiple federal arrests, and to seek public assistance in the ongoing investigation of an international sex-trafficking ring in which 14 have been charged. Twelve victims were recovered including five minors.

Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle

Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, center left, speaks during...

A photo of Alfonso "Poncho" Diaz-Juarez is displayed as Special Agent in Charge Stephen Morris speaks Friday at the FBI's Houston headquarters. A task force is seeking the public's help in apprehending Diaz-Juarez on human trafficking charges.

A 55-year-old arrested last week in a human trafficking sting has worked in a prison kitchen for more than 20 years.

Guadalupe Valdez Lugo was one of 14 people accused by federal authorities of a range of charges including sex trafficking, alien smuggling and money laundering, according to an indictment unsealed Friday.

On Thursday, investigators with the multi-agency Human Trafficking Task Force raided the Nuevo Amanecer club in the 5600 block of Telephone Road and arrested 13 of the people who were indicted, including Lugo.

In total, authorities said they rescued 12 women, including five age 17 and younger, during the raid.

Clark said Lugo had at least 249 months of service with the agency, but not continuously. She apparently left the agency from March 2011 and returned in November 2012.

If she makes bail, Clark said, she is not allowed to return to work because of the pending charges.

Federal prosecutors allege the ring charged "premium prices" for sex acts with underage girls and young women, with pricing based on how young and pretty the victims were. In total, the ring amassed $12 million in cash and property that may now be subject to forfeiture, the indictment alleges.

Among those arrested Thursday was a 66-year-old woman identified as the ring's matriarch, Hortencia Medeles-Arguello, also known as "Tencha." Authorities are still searching for a fugitive from Mexico, an alleged pimp named Alfonso Diaz-Juarez, also known as "Poncho."

The girls were kept locked in a room above the Nuevo Amanecer bar, and the ring charged a $20 fee for a condom and $15 to use a prostitution room, according to the indictment. The room and condom fees topped $1.26 million from February 2012 to August.

The charge for the sex acts ranged from $65 for 15 minutes to $500 an hour.

The indictment alleges the ring has operated since at least 1999, when Medeles-Arguello ran a bar in east Houston called Las Flores.